Sarah Paulson to Play Cult Leader Gwen Shamblin in ‘The Way Down’ Scripted Adaptation at HBO Max

pulling off their masks at the end of each episode. But now, a new revelation just might be the most seismic in the animated show’s 53-year history. Lead character Velma Dinkley is a lesbian in the new Warner Bros.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Dune” prequel series at HBO Max from Legendary Television has cast Emily Watson and Shirley Henderson in lead roles, Variety has learned. Officially titled “Dune: The Sisterhood,” the series was ordered at HBO Max in June 2019. The show is set 10,000 years before the events of “Dune” and is based on the novel “Sisterhood of Dune” by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Per the official logline, the show “follows the Harkonnen Sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect known as the Bene Gesserit” Watson will play Valya Harkonnen and Henderson will play Tula Harkonnen. The character descriptions say the two sisters “have risen to power in the Sisterhood, a secret organization of women who will go on to become the Bene Gesserit.”

HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys has a new title, Chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max Content.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order to a new comedy series from Chuck Lorre and Nick Bakay with Sebastian Maniscalco set for the lead role, Variety has learned. The single-camera show is titled “How to Be a Bookie.” HBO Max has given it an eight-episode order. Per the official logline, “A veteran bookie (Maniscalco) struggles to survive the impending legalization of sports gambling, increasingly unstable clients, family, co-workers, and a lifestyle that bounces him around every corner of Los Angeles, high and low.” Lorre and Bakay serve as co-writers and executive producers on the show. Maniscalco will executive produce in addition to starring, with Judi Marmel also executive producing. Warner Bros. Television is the studio. Chuck Lorre productions is currently under an overall deal at WBTV. The show marks Lorre’s first series at HBO Max.

The cast of HBO Max’s upcoming pilot More has been announced!

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Lukas Gage has joined the cast of the “Dead Boy Detectives” series at HBO Max, Variety has learned. The eight-episode series was ordered at HBO Max back in April. It is based on the DC comics of the same name as well as “The Sandman,” from characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The official series description states, “It’s a fresh take on a ghost story that explores loss, grief, and death through the lens of Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), two dead British teenagers, and their very alive friend, Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson). So, it’s a lot like a vintage detective series — only darker and on acid.”

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Christian Serratos has been cast in the lead role of the HBO Max drama pilot “More,” Variety has learned exclusively. The project was originally ordered to pilot at HBO Max in September 2020. Serratos joins previously announced cast members Veronica Falcón, Yvette Monreal, Georgie Flores, and Ceci Fernandez. The show is inspired by the reporting of journalist Amy Chozick. Per the official description, “‘More’ follows the Lorenz family, a tight-knit clan of seemingly flawless Latinas led by mom/mastermind Leona (Falcón). The Lorenzes are the Vanderbilts or the Astors of the Instagram era. They pulled their way up from debt and obscurity to reality TV stardom and forged a billion-dollar mega-conglomerate not from oil or steel but from something more elusive and modern: Influence.”

Sarah Paulson is set to play Gwen Shamblin, the founder of a diet program Weigh Down Workshop and Remnant Fellowship, in a scripted version of the investigative docuseries, The Way Down.

Sarah Paulson is set to star and exec produce the HBO Max scripted adaptation of its docuseries The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin.

Who’s ready for “Magic Mike’s Last Dance“? According to Deadline, moviegoers need to add themselves to that list because Warner Bros. Discovery is now giving the film a theatrical release.

scrubbed from iconic movie posters for Robert Altman’s “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” as well as “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean.”In the photoshopped posters, stars Warren Beatty and Paul Newman no longer hold cigarettes between their fingers but instead appear to be posing — bizarrely — with digits raised, staring off into the distance. One irritated cinephile slammed the streaming service, which is known for hits like “Game of Thrones,” its prequel, “House of Dragon,” and “Succession,” tweeting: “No Smoking! Twitter users report HBO Max removed Warren Beatty’s and Paul Newman’s cigars from movie poster art used on its home page: McCabe & Mrs.

recent turmoil at HBO Max, especially among DC Universe projects, many, including executive producers Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, were nervous that the hit adult animated series would be the next to get canceled. Instead, ahead of its season 3 finale, the series was renewed with Sarah Peters elevated to executive producer and will serve as showrunner for season 4.“We were in the middle of production,” Schumacker tells ET, revealing the new episodes had already been written when they formally got the news about moving forward. “But what was a little touch and go was, you know, with things changing over at Warner Bros.

Naman Ramachandran HBO Max in Hungary will stream a local version of hit survival reality format “The Bridge.” The competition sees participants tasked with building a 250-metre-long bridge to an island for the chance to win a large cash prize. Presented by Csaba Magyarósi, “The Bridge Hungary” is produced locally by Free Monkeys Production. This is the sixth adaptation of the format, which was created in Spain by Zeppelin, part of Banijay Iberia and has U.K., Brazil and Australia versions.. Banijay Rights struck multiple deals for the U.K. version with broadcasters in the Netherlands and across Africa and Latin America. The U.K. series also aired on HBO Max in the US, Latin America, and Asia.

Deadwood alum Timothy Olyphant is returning to HBO, signing on as a lead opposite Zazie Beetz and Claire Danes in the HBO Max limited series Full Circle, from director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Rachel Bloom has joined the cast of “Julia” Season 2 at HBO Max, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is inspired by the life of Julia Child and her long-running cooking show “The French Chef.” The first season debuted in March 2022 and the show was renewed in May. Bloom will appear in a recurring role as Elaine Levitch. The character is described as “a dynamo who comes to WGBH by way of CBS to work with Julia on ‘The French Chef.'” Bloom will next be seen in the Steve Levitan Hulu comedy series “Reboot,” which premieres Sept. 20. She is best known for her work on the CW musical dramedy series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” which she co-created and executive produced in addition to starring. She received five Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for her work on the series, winning one of each. Her recent credits include the Disney+ film “Chip ‘N’ Dalel: Rescue Rangers” and the upcoming Netflix film “The School for Good and Evil.” She published the book “I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are” in 2020.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO roared back to the top of the Emmy Awards, with the premium cabler and its streaming counterpart, HBO Max, topping the total awards haul for 2022. HBO/HBO Max picked up 38 Emmys in total, doubling their 19 wins in 2021. HBO took home multiple awards in the limited series category thanks to “The White Lotus'” 10 wins, with Mike White winning for both best writing and directing. Those wins were coupled with “The White Lotus” stars Jennifer Coolidge and Murray Bartlett’s wins for best supporting actress and actor in a limited series. To close out the night, “The White Lotus” ultimately won best limited series while “Succession” won best drama series.